Importance of Linking words in the IELTS Exam

Importance of Linking words in the IELTS Exam

Over Bridges, rail links, ties, door hinges, joiners, connectors and ligaments – what do all these things have in common? They all connect different things! In other words, they all bring things together. They take two or more things, connect them in some way, and make them one. Now, imagine a world with no bridges no roads. Imagine not having laces in shoes. Imagine a human body without tendons connecting the bones together. Without important links, things fall apart, and, therefore, things becoming isolated. 

There are various ways of expressing ideas. When you want to express ideas it can be done using simple sentences. Indeed, there is another straightforward way is joining sentences together. Sentences can be linked using Coordinating, Subordinating or Correlative conjunctions. So, what is a conjunction?

A conjunction is a linking word/that glue that connects other words, phrases and clauses, ideas, paragraph reflecting some kind of logical relationship between the connected elements.

Conjunctions allow you to

• Form complex,
• Elegant sentences

These are also known as discourse markers, Transition words, connectors or connecting devices.

The concept of connectors can be understood in the article on importance of linking words in IELTS 7+ writing, via the following illustration:

Simple sentences:

Technological Devices are increasingly used in today’s world. Technological Devices can work with great speed and accuracy.

Complex sentence using linking words:

Technological Devices are increasingly used in today’s world due to their great speed and accuracy.

Usage: The use of linking devices is profoundly valued in the IELTS Writing and Speaking. Albeit, a correct essay or a letter can even be written without using discourse markers, but, for the candidates aspiring 7 bands or above, the use of connectors is enthusiastically suggested.

Benefits: We will zero in here on the significance and right utilization of connecting words for IELTS. We will likewise give you instances of discourse markers that can be used while speaking and specific linking words for IELTS Writing Task 1 and 2.

• They make the paragraph clear and precise.
• They provide cohesion to the written content
• Help in demonstrating how the parts or clauses of a content are connected
• They add more information to a point.
• Help in expressing viewpoint or objective
• They help in building a clear conclusion
• Transition words are brilliant grammatical and stylistic tools that bring in writing or speech clarity and keep it fluent and connected.

Time Clauses:

When	Before
After	As soon as
While	Since
Until

Place Clauses

Where

People clauses

Whose

Who

Expressing Contrast

Although	Even though
Despite	In spite of
Nevertheless	However
On the other hand	But
While	Where as
By contrast

Expressing Reason

The reason (for/why)	Which is why
As	Since
Because	Because of
Owing to	Due to

Expressing Result

So	As a result
As a consequence	Consequently
Therefore,	Hence,
Thus,	For this reason,

Expressing Purpose

to	in order to
so as to	so that

 Conditional Statements

If	If and only if
As long as	Unless
Provided that

Adding Information

Not only … But also	And
In addition	Moreover,
Furthermore,	Besides,
As well as	Also

Showing Similarities & Differences

Similarly	Likewise
Instead,	On the contrary,
In contrast,	Rather

 

Adding emphasis

Indeed

In fact

Giving Opinion

I reckon	I hold the view
I opine	I opine of the fact
I concur	I my view
	In my opinion

 

To conclude, linking words are a critical grammatical tool that make an essay more readable to the examiner. They not only help in sentence construction but also sentence development and enhancement as well as connect two related parts of a content. Another added benefit is that they can also help candidates put forth their viewpoint comprehensively and display a wider knowledge and variety of lexical resource.